


Thinking about it

by zakari_little_lion



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Coming Out, F/F, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:27:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24412036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zakari_little_lion/pseuds/zakari_little_lion
Summary: The annual Sheperd family lunch is around the corner, and they're all coming this year. All of them. And Amelia's excited to introduce them to her new partner, Arizona.
Relationships: Arizona Robbins/Amelia Shepherd
Comments: 3
Kudos: 76





	Thinking about it

“What are you and Arizona bringing on Saturday?” Derek asked to his sister as he placed his lunch tray down in front of hers and sat down.

“What do you mean what are we bringing?” her fork stopped mid-air and Amelia frowned at him, obviously confused and not understanding what he was talking about.

“You guys are coming, right?”

The brunette’s frown only deepened, “Coming where? And to what?”

“The annual family summer meal,” he replied in a duh tone and his sister looked at him like he had suddenly grown a second head. “Saturday? Lunch? Rings any bell?”

“Who’s having lunch on Saturday?” Arizona asked with a warm smile as she joined them at their table, looking as relaxed and as cheerful as ever. She sat down next to her partner and her hand found its way onto Amelia’s thigh, delicately squeezing it as to say hi.

“Oh, we are,” Derek affirmed with a firm nod. “The Sheperds are coming. All of them this year. I hope you’re ready to meet them, Robbins.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Arizona chastised her girlfriend and lightly swatted Amelia’s leg, a tad upset to not have been told sooner.

“I didn’t know! I’m sorry!” she apologized with furrowed brows to the pediatric surgeon and held her hands up in surrender. “LizzieBizzie didn’t mention anything last week on the phone and Mom tried calling a few days ago but I was in surgery and I completely forgot to call her back. I thought she was just checking in and honestly, I wasn’t really looking forward being yelled at or enduring a Spanish inquisition. Which happens every time she calls by the way, since a certain someone told her I was dating,” she pointed out dryly and glared at the other neurosurgeon across the table.

“For the last time, I’m sorry!” he apologized once more before taking another mouthful. “It just slipped out! You and Robbins have been together for so long now, you should honestly be thankful it didn’t slip out earlier,” he pointed to Amelia with his fork.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Amelia dismissed with a wave of her hand and took a bite out of her banana.

For the last two months, ever since Derek’s tragic misstep, the questions hadn’t stopped. And of course, her mom had told her sisters, all of them, which meant Amelia not only had her mom prying but also her overly-noisy sisters. The only sister that wasn’t actively annoying her with the issue was Liz. It wasn’t really a surprise since she was the only sister Amelia shared a great relationship with. Her only question had been to know if Amelia was happy, and when Amelia had replied yes, Liz had simply said “good then,” and hadn’t asked anything more.

While Amelia was frustrated with Derek for ratting out to their mom, she knew she was also kind of to blame here. Arizona and she had been together for almost ten months now. It was a lot to ask someone to keep a secret quiet for this long, especially from their family. While she had always kept her answers pretty vague to whatever relationship-related questions her family had been asking her, she could understand why Derek had eventually slipped out at some point. God knew her sisters could be annoying gremlins when they put their minds to it. She had almost outed herself multiple times but it truly wasn’t something she wanted to do over the phone or over skype. It felt too intimate and too treasured of a deal for that.

“You better brace yourself, Robbins. My sisters are _astonishingly_ loud and noisy,” Derek stated.

“Don’t I know it,” Arizona chuckled and then playfully teased the brunette, “I have my very own sample at home.”

“You’re the worst partner ever,” Amelia rolled her eyes and she gently nudged the blonde in the ribs with her elbow.

Derek laughed but it was cut short when his sister not so kindly kicked him in the shin under the table.

“Don’t encourage her. This is all your fault after all!”

* * *

Amelia was sprawled over the bed, silently playing a game on her phone as she waited more or less patiently for her girlfriend to finish putting her makeup on. As much as she was dreading the deep yet mandatory conversation with her sisters once they would learn about Arizona’s existence, the neurosurgeon was also crazy excited to see her nephews and nieces and to hug them all to death and cover their adorable faces with kisses. Eventually, the blonde came out of the bathroom, looking ready for their lunch. Amelia’s eyes fell onto Arizona and fuck her, would she ever get used to having such a breath-taking girlfriend?

“Do I look okay? I didn’t want to look too formal but not too casual either,” Arizona was obviously uncertain about her choice of outfit.

“Turn around,” Amelia instructed with a spin of her hand.

Arizona twirled around, showing off her pants and her top.

“So?” the blonde asked, doubt filling her voice.

The neurosurgeon carelessly discarded her phone on the bed and got up to take the visibly nervous blonde in her arms. “I think my hands are going to have a hard time staying away from this beauty, sweet cheeks,” she teased as her hands wandered to Arizona’s butt and squeezed it softly.

“As much as I find your obsession with my ass endearing, and trust me, I really do, I highly doubt that that’s what your family is going to be interested in.”

“Their bad, they’re really missing out,” Amelia chuckled. “Don’t worry, you look perfect. You _are_ perfect,” she kissed her cheek as to not ruin her partner’s lipstick. “And my family is going to be way more interested in that smart brain of yours than in your looks,” she tenderly nuzzled her other cheek with her nose before pecking it.

Arizona let out a thankful sigh and her body lightly relaxed under the small yet tender ministrations. “Thanks, babe. Can we go over the names one last time?”

The hint of edginess in her voice, the tight smile, the haziness in her bright blue eyes… The blonde was nowhere near as good at hiding her nervousness from Amelia as she thought she was.

“Sure,” Amelia agreed with a reassuring smile.

She snaked her arms around Arizona’s neck, feeling the tensed shoulders underneath them. They didn’t really have the time to go over the names again, but the neurosurgeon took it anyway since the pediatric surgeon obviously needed a few minutes to be comforted. They were already running late anyway, what were five more minutes?

“My eldest sister is Nancy. She’s married to John and they have four kids together. They’re both uptight as fuck but their kids are really sweet. Then, there’s Kathleen, the psychiatrist and her husband Diego. They also have four kids. And lastly, there’s LizzieBizzie and her husband Noah. He’s a real sweetheart, I think you’ll like him a lot. He’s very down-to-Earth and cheerful and funny. Lizzie’s a physiotherapist and he’s a stay at home dad. Which is really convenient because they have seven kids. Worst than rabbits these two, I’m telling you,” Amelia scrunched up her nose. “Not that I’m supposed to have any preferences, but LizzieBizzie’s pretty much my favorite. I have an okay relationship with Nance and Kate but Lizzie and I truly have a great relationship now that we’re adults.”

That Arizona knew. While Amelia hardly ever talked with Nancy and Kathleen, she was on the phone at least once every other week with Liz, catching up about everything and nothing.

“What’s up with the nickname? LizzieBizzie?”

“Oh, Liz used to get stung by bees a lot when we were kids. Like, a lot _a lot_. Hence the nickname. Moreover, she hated it and you know how siblings are. It stuck ever since.”

Amelia’s phone rang, breaking their small peaceful bubble. At least, Arizona’s shoulders didn’t feel as tensed anymore and even though her smile was still a tad hesitant, her dimples were back meaning it wasn’t faked. She grabbed her phone and made a face when she saw her brother’s name.

“It’s Der. Reads SOS. Pretty sure that means we have to go. Come on, let’s go.”

* * *

Amelia parked her car at Derek’s and when she took her key out of the ignition, she was pleasantly yet suspiciously surprised to find a relaxed Arizona. A too-relaxed Arizona.

The neurosurgeon eyed her doubtfully. “I found you abnormally calm, sweet cheeks. Are you alright?”

“I-I… I took a Xanax before leaving. I was way too anxious,” Arizona confessed in one breath and looked at her girlfriend apologetically.

The brunette couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her. “Don’t you dare fall asleep in the middle of lunch, now _that_ would make a bad impression. Memorable. Hilarious even. But still bad,” Amelia playfully teased.

“Lipstick sucks. I could really use a kiss right now,” the blonde let out a big sigh and she let her head fall backwards against the headrest.

“Fuck lipstick,” Amelia muttered.

She gently cupped Arizona’s face and pulled her toward her until they were softly kissing. Arizona sighed, melting into the kiss. The blonde’s tongue wandered along her bottom lip, and then dipped into her mouth when the brunette opened it to welcome her in. Hands gently strolled up to Amelia’s neck and tenderly rested there, the strong jugular pulse beating underneath her fingertips grounding Arizona. They were abruptly pulled out of their lip lock session by a knock on the car window.

They hastily broke away and Arizona ducked her head, half-startled and half-ashamed at being caught while Amelia turned around only to see five hyped up kids waiting for her with big doe eyes. Arizona was in awe at how her girlfriend’s face lighted up when she saw them: the wide grin that ate half her face, her eyes shined with glee, the excited gasp that left her lips and that Amelia probably hadn’t even noticed she had let out… Seeing her partner so happy at the prospect of being with her family made the pediatric surgeon feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Amelia wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and opened the car door.

“Hey you guys!” she knelt on the ground and she was almost tackled down as the kids all catapulted themselves into her open arms for a big group hug. “You’ve grown so much since the last time I saw all you. Lucy, you’re almost as big as Zola now!”

The little girl in question swooned at the comment. Arizona exited the car and listened as Amelia said a special something to each of her nephews and nieces. Once she was done, she looked to her side and gently beckoned Arizona closer to them with a warm smile.

“I want to introduce you to a special someone, guys. This is my girlfriend, Arizona.”

Arizona waved at them. Kids, she could do. She dealt with kids every day. It was the adults she was more scared of. “Hi!”

A chorus of hellos and his was heard. They talked for a little while, Amelia introducing each of the kids to Arizona. She tried her best to memorize the most of the names.

“Okay, I supposed your daddies and your mommies are all inside?” the brunette asked.

“Yep!”

“Let’s get going then!”

The children didn’t need to be told twice and raced back to the house, screaming loudly to whoever willing to listen that their auntie was “ _FINALLY_ HERE!”. Arizona grabbed the flowers from the backseat and interlocked her fingers with Amelia’s. The neurosurgeon gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before tugging her towards Derek’s house.

“If my sisters are getting too annoying, you can always come and find me or Meredith. Or maybe just take baby Ellis. Nobody’s going to annoy the baby carrier, right?”

They stopped at the doorstep and the pediatric surgeon sighed, trying her best to let all of her anxiety out as she exhaled.

“You might want to fix that lipstick of yours before stepping in though,” Amelia informed her girlfriend.

She took the lipstick out of her purse and before she could press the dark pink pigment to her lips, Amelia’s hand landed on hers, stopping her mid-air.

“Wait, one last kiss so you know how amazing you are,” the brunette said and pulled the pediatric surgeon towards her until their lips met for a gentle kiss. “There, you can go on now, sweet cheeks,” Amelia smirked when she saw Arizona’s still dazzled face.

“Teeth okay?” she asked and made a face to show perfectly lipstick-free teeth.

Amelia smiled confidently at her. “You’re perfect, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Arizona nodded.

Amelia knocked, even though she doubted anyone would hear it giving all the ruckus emanating from inside and she opened the front door. The house was already loud enough with only her brother, her brother’s wife and their three kids in it, but with the whole Sheperd family in it? Cacophony at its purest form. Thank God Derek had a backyard.

Meredith, Carolyn and Nancy were in the kitchen while Liz, Kathleen were talking loudly in the living room. Four husbands could be seen in the backyard, pretending to keep an eye on the barbecue but the lack of any flame whatsoever indicated they were doing a really poor job at it. The kids were scattered pretty much everywhere. While Arizona knew that they would be a lot of people, seventeen kids plus eleven adults, most of them whom she didn’t know, all reunited under one single roof put her more on edge than she would care to admit.

“Hello everyone,” Amelia called out in lieu of greetings.

Bailey shrieked when he saw her and he ran as fast as his little legs would allow him towards Arizona, throwing his body into her legs and wrapping his arms her knees.

“Zona! I didn’t know you were comin’! Sofia’s comin’ too?” he said with a big toothy grin and Arizona could see a new missing spot on the bottom.

“Not today, munchkin’. She’s with Callie this week,” she affectively ruffled his hair and then leaned forward to drop a kiss on top of his head. “When did you lose your tooth?”

“Yesterday mornin’. It was movin’ a lot and I ate an apple and it fell down. There was blood everywhere, Ellis cried. Daddy took pictures of me! He said I looked scary.”

“Did the tooth fairy stop by?” Amelia asked him.

“Yeah, she gave me candies.”

“Lucky boy,” the blonde said.

Bailey ran back to his cousin and they started right back their game.

“Amy, nice of you to finally grace us with your presence,” Derek mocked, “Robbins,” he greeted her much more warmly and kissed both of their cheeks.

“Amy, it’s been so long!” Nancy said. “You look great.”

“AMY!” Liz yelled as she spotted her baby sister and she leaped into her arms, a wide smile on her face.

Thankfully, Amelia caught her sister just in time. Liz wrapped her legs around her waist and her arms around her neck, holding onto Amelia like to dear life.

“LIZZIE-BIZZIE!”

“I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too, but I miss breathing more,” she said, out of breath.

“Right, sorry, sorry,” Liz let go of her sister and once her feet were firmly onto the ground, she pulled her into a much more less bone-crushing hug.

“How is it that you keep on pushing kids out and yet, you’re still so fit? Tell me your secret right now so I can steal it,” Amelia said.

“Breastfeeding. Also the secret to boobies stretch marks.”

“Unfortunately,” Nancy seconded.

“Forget I even asked,” Amelia laughed.

Liz eventually turned towards the blonde woman standing a little awkwardly next to her sister.

“And who is this tall drink of water?”

The brunette motioned to both of her sisters. “Guys, this is Arizona, my partner. Zona, Liz and Nancy.”

Liz smiled knowingly and predatorily at her sister. “Nice,” she smirked, knowing Amelia’s news was going to turn this family reunion into a shit show. She totally should have made popcorn. Maybe she still could.

“Hi,” Arizona introduced herself with a warm smile.

Or at least, she hoped it was a warm smile and not a weird nervous smile. Amelia’s eyes twinkled lightly so she must have done a good job at pretending to be normal and not a nervous train-wreck.

Nancy frowned deeply. “Did you just say partner? You have a partner?”

Liz raised her eyebrows, so high they almost disappeared in her hairline. She looked over at Derek for some sort of explanation but he merely shrugged.

“You knew about this Der?” Nancy said accusingly.

“Of course he did,” Amelia replied for him. “What’s with the tone?”

“Oh, excuse my surprise. How long have you been with this ‘ _partner’_ of yours?”

Amelia frowned at Nancy. “Why are you putting air quotes?”

“Come on Amy. You can’t expect me to think you’re serious about this,” she said with an incredulous laugh. She looked at Arizona, “I’m sorry, you seem like a nice lady but,” she turned towards Amelia. “we all know how impulsive you can be, Amelia. What’s next? You’re giving up neurosurgery and start a unicorn breeding with her?” she laughed. She stopped abruptly however, a dark thought coming to her mind. “Oh my God, did you start drinking again?”

This time it was Arizona’s turn to squeeze her girlfriend’s hand. She squeezed it hard. As hard as she could, scared that her partner was going to punch her sister right in the face if she didn’t hold her back. She was surprised however when she didn’t feel her fight her grip. In fact, Amelia looked nowhere near as mad as she would have been, had their roles been reversed.

“It’s okay, I’m okay,” the brunette whispered to her, and the pediatric surgeon could tell she was being truthful. “Why don’t you go and give the flowers to Meredith so she can put them in a vase?”

“Right now?”

“Please? For me? I swear I really am alright.”

“She’s in the kitchen, giving Mom and Kathleen a hand,” Derek provided.

“Okay,” Arizona agreed reluctantly.

She could understand Amelia’s need to deal with Nancy on her own. Even though she wished she could be by her side to support her, it was her decision and her battle.

“Thank you.”

“What the fuck, Nance?” Liz asked once Arizona was gone, shocked by her older sister’s behavior.

“And be careful with what you say in my home. Just because it’s news to you doesn’t mean it’s not real,” their brother added.

“Der, come on. This is insane, you can’t expect me to believe this. Amy’s not a lesbian!”

“Amy’s right here,” Amelia reminded her drily.

While she wasn’t mad at Nancy, after all seeing your baby sister in the arms of another woman after only seeing her dating men for over thirty years could be a shock, the mention of her past-alcoholism and the disproportionate outrage bothered her. She knew that out of all of her sisters, Nancy would be the most problematic. She was the most conservative out of the five of them, but she had hoped she would be less vocal about it.

“Don’t mind Nance, she’s just freaking out. She’s been living in Manhattan for over ten years now, you can’t expect her to be sane anymore,” Liz said dismissively to her sister and playfully elbowed Amelia into the ribs. “Is Arizona making our baby sister happy?”

Amelia gave her a little smile. “Ridiculously so.”

“Is she good in bed?”

Amelia gave her a “are you even fucking serious right now?” look and Liz merely shrugged.

“What? She looks like she’s a freak in the sheets.”

Derek held his hand up between his sisters to stop them and pretended to throw up. “Please, do not answer in my presence,” and he walked out to rejoin his sisters’ husbands.

“So?” Liz asked overeagerly once more.

“I’m not telling you anything, Lizzie! Stop insisting!” Amelia was unfortunately unable to stop the blush from rising to her cheeks.

“Your blushing says it all, baby,” Liz teased with a smirk.

“Oh my God,” Amelia groaned in annoyance and threw her head back, looking at the ceiling.

“I still can’t believe it,” Nancy said with a frown.

“Good thing I don’t need your approval then.”

With that, Amelia headed to the kitchen. She could hear Liz and Nancy arguing in harsh whispers behind her and decided to let just them be. Kathleen was sitting on the counter with a beer in her hand and a bag of chips in the other, her feet swinging into the emptiness. She was in deep discussion with Meredith, who had Ellis in her arms, while Arizona and her Mom were cooking.

“Hello everyone.”

“Hello Amelia,” Meredith greeted her with a welcoming grin and Ellis babbled excitedly.

“Hey! Baby sis’!” Kathleen opened her arms for a hug, almost spilling her beer in the process.

Amelia gladly obliged her.

“Amelia! It’s been so long!” her mom stopped whatever she was doing and turned around. After ten seconds of waiting, she playfully scolded Kathleen, “Will you stop hogging your sister now so I can hug her too?”

“You guys know I’m more than just some property for you to pass around, right? I’m a human being with real feelings and two very functional ears,” Amelia kidded and she gently let go of her sister to hug her mother instead.

She saw Arizona smiling fondly at her over her mother’s shoulder.

“I heard yelling. Did you argue with your sisters already?” Carolyn asked as she pulled away.

“Don’t worry about it, Mom. Just… Nancy being Nancy.”

Meredith and Arizona both gave her a sympathetic look.

“How have you been?”

The brunette kissed Ellis’ forehead and leaned her hip onto the countertop next to Arizona. “Pretty good.”

“I see you brought a friend.”

“Yeah, a _friend_ ,” Kathleen winked at Amelia knowingly and took a sip out of her bottle.

“Arizona’s a sweet girl, she brought flowers! Did she show them to you? They’re magnificent.”

“Yes, we rode together, Mom.”

“Ah, right. And she’s a good help in the kitchen,” she winked good-heartedly at the pediatric surgeon.

“Please Carolyn, I simply helped with cutting the vegetables up and seasoning.”

“Which is more than what I am capable of. At least, while keeping my ten fingers intact,” Meredith backed Arizona up.

“I still remember that lunch from like, two years ago when you mistook salt for sugar,” Kathleen teased her sister-in-law.

“Not my finest moment.”

“Indeed.”

“Actually Mom,” Amelia cleared her throat as she gathered up the courage to say the words she was dreading so much to say out loud. “Arizona isn’t exactly my friend. She’s my girlfriend.”

“Congrats sis’,” Kathleen pretended to take her hat off.

“I can definitely see that Arizona is a woman, baby,” Carolyn laughed. “Friends, girlfriends, it’s all the same nowadays.”

“No Mom. Arizona’s my girlfriend, as in we’re romantically involved with each other. I love her.”

The spatula her mom was swirling around froze mid-motion and she looked at her younger daughter straight in the eyes.

“Please Mom, don’t have a heart attack.”

Carolyn opened and closed her mouth a few times, completely speechless.

“How about we let you guys talking?” Arizona suggested and everyone got out of the kitchen. The blonde turned towards the brunette, “Do you want me to stay?”

The neurosurgeon shook her head.

“Okay, then. You got this, darling,” she softly squeezed her upper arm and gave her a tender look before following Meredith and Kathleen on their way out.

“Mom?”

“I-I don’t know what to say, Amy.”

“I love you no matter what would be great,” Amelia’s confidence wavered slightly at her mother’s lack of reaction.

Good or bad, she just needed a reaction. The lack of any expression whatsoever was killing her.

“Oh, of course I love you, baby girl. Come here,” she opened her arms and Amelia threw herself in the embrace, her nerves coming down. “I’ll always love you. No matter what. I have no problem with you being with Arizona. It’s just… surprising and confusing. I know you’re the benjamin of the family and you’ve always been a little more… wild and feisty than your sisters but _this_? This is a brand new turn. You never said anything about no girl in over thirty years of existence and now you have a girlfriend. We all know how impulsive you are. I’m a little taken aback is all. Is it serious between you two?”

Amelia stepped out of the hug but chose to stay close to her mom. “I wouldn’t have brought her over if it wasn’t, Mom. We’ve been together ten months.”

“Ten months? And you didn’t even think about mentioning her to your own mother?”

“I didn’t know how to tell you Mom. It’s not something I wanted to say over the phone and it’s not like you guys visit often,” Amelia confessed.

“Are you happy?” Carolyn asked with an encouraging smile, tenderly rubbing her daughter’s arms up and down.

“I am. Arizona takes it all, you know? The good, the bad and the ugly. She doesn’t want to fix me, she just… lets me be… me. She doesn’t judge, she doesn’t try to influence me or to pressure me. She’s fantastic and she has absolutely no idea of how perfect she is.”

“She sounds like a keeper.”

“She truly is.”

“You have that smile that reaches your eyes again. It has been a while since I last saw it. Happiness looks good on you, sweetheart,” Carolyn squeezed her hands. “Well, let’s get your little lady back in there so I can get to know her a little better.”

“Don’t you mean, harass?” Amelia kidded.

Carolyn hit her with the dish towel.

* * *

Amelia had just send Ella over to Derek whom was monitoring the barbecue, for real this time, when two arms wrapped round her midsection.

“I missed you so much baby sis’,” Liz squealed before relaxing her hold onto her sister and kissing her temple.

“I missed you too,” Amelia chuckled and happily melted into the hug. “Do you know where Zona is?”

“Playing hide and seek with some of the kids.”

They talked for a while, about nothing and everything. Eventually, Liz was pulled away by her daughter so the neurosurgeon decided to head inside and found Meredith and her partner sitting on the couch, Ellis onto her mother’s knees, entertaining herself with the bright colorful cartoons. Adam, her fourteen years old nephew was sitting on the sofa, focused on his console, totally oblivious of his surroundings.

“I thought you were playing hide and seek with the kids?” Amelia asked as she joined the two women on the couch.

“I quitted after the first game,” Arizona said and leaned into the brunette. “The kids just needed someone to launch the first round.”

“Did you win?”

“I was the seeker.”

“Who won then?”

“Would you believe me if I told you Tess and Diego won?”

Diego being Kathleen’s husband, Amelia and Meredith both chuckled.

“You’re telling me you didn’t find a grown ass adult and a twelve years old? I think you might need glasses, sweet cheeks.”

“In my defense, they hid in Mer’s car trunk. How the hell was I supposed to find them?”

“As much as it pains me to say, that’s genius.”

“Anyway, I had to quit because I saw that Meredith was in great need of saving in the kitchen.”

“I did _not_ need saving,” Meredith said as she took a sip of red wine.

“Third glass of red wine and we haven’t even started lunch yet? That’s screaming saving to me,” Arizona objected with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s just…”

Both women looked at her with big expecting eyes.

“Your mom and Nancy had a lot of questions about the two of you!” Meredith finally admitted.

“Of course they did,” Amelia rolled her eyes.

“AMELIA!” came a yell from the kitchen.

“Annnnnnnnnnd that’s my cue.”

“Here comes the shit show,” Adam singsong-ed, his eyes never leaving his console.

“I HEARD THAT,” Nancy scolded her son from afar.

“It’ll be fine, babe. It’s just your mom.”

“Oh, that’s not my mom. It’s worst than that. It’s shithead number one,” Amelia whispered the last part to Arizona and got up. “COMIN’!”

The pediatric surgeon threw Meredith a questioning look.

“Nancy,” Meredith filled in the gasp.

* * *

Before Amelia could set a foot in the kitchen, Nancy grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the bathroom.

“Look, Nance, I don’t wanna fight with you,” Amelia let out a big exasperated breath. “I’m not asking you to accept our relationship. Not right away anyway, I hope you’ll come around eventually. But I’m asking you to, at least, respect it.”

Nancy scoffed at the last comment, as if Amelia was asking too much out of her.

“Love has no gender or no sexual orientation. I don’t even understand why you’re making such a big deal out of this. Kate’s husband is bisexual and it never seemed to bother you this much.”

“Because he’s with Kathleen! He chose to be straight.”

“Oh my fucking God, Nancy! Do you even hear yourself? I like both M&M’s and Skittles. Just because you see me eating a bunch of M&M’s doesn’t mean I don’t like Skittles anymore. It’s the same with sexual orientation. Just because Diego’s with Kathleen now doesn’t mean he magically stopped being attracted to men,” she explained as calmly as she could but god, was her sister a stubborn one. “He found someone worth settling down with, regardless of their gender.”

Amelia could see the wheels turning inside her sister’s head.

“So, you’re still attracted to men?” she said after a while.

“Yes.”

“Then why did you choose to be with Arizona?”

“I didn’t choose anything, Nance. How is that so hard for you to get? I simply fell in love with her. And if you would take some down time to actually talk to her instead of giving her a dirty look from afar, I’m sure you would be quite surprised by how amazing she is.”

“I’ll try,” she eventually conceded after a few moments of deliberation.

“Thank you. That would mean the world to me.”

“You know I love you, right?”

“You sure have a funny way of showing it,” the neurosurgeon huffed.

“I just… it’s a lot to process for me, okay? This lifestyle-“

“Not a lifestyle. A lifestyle is when you decide to move to LA to be closer to the beach or when you decide to eat more kale. My sexuality isn’t a lifestyle, it’s my life, period.”

“I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. You already went through so much and I know you’re strong,” she softly grabbed her sister’s hands and gave them a squeeze. “You’re so strong, Amy. But you’re my baby sister. I’m scared for you,” she re-placed a fallen brunette lock behind Amelia’s ear.

“Look, I get it. Change can be scary, especially at first. But this? This is a good change, Nancy. This is me being the happiest and the most fulfilled I’ve been in a long time. And it’s all thanks to Arizona. _She_ makes me feel happy and fulfilled.”

“It’s, it’s going to take a while but I promise you, I’ll try.”

Amelia could see her sister’s eyes shining with unshed tears and her heart tightened uneasily inside her chest. She could tell it was costing her older sister a lot but still, Nancy bent. She bent because it was her baby sister, and Amelia’s happiness was more important than her own fear and stubbornness.

“Thank you,” she gently pulled her into a hug and was quite surprised when Nancy pulled her even closer.

She couldn’t quite remember the last time they had shared a hug like that. Not a hello hug, or a thank you hug but a real one. Where she could feel straight hair brushing her neck and slender arms wrapped around her midsection and where perfume, the one Nancy must have been wearing for close to ten years now, was invading her nose. Amelia couldn’t help the small tear that escaped her left eye.

* * *

The neurosurgeon passed by the kitchen on her way back and she saw her mother cooking all by herself. She knew Carolyn had probably shooed everybody out of the kitchen but still, she asked, “Mom, do you need help with anything?”

“I’m fine, sweetheart. Thank you for asking,” her mom beckoned her closer with a spatula so she walked up next to her. With the wooden spoon, she pointed to the backyard, where Arizona and the husbands in laws were all laughing. “She fits right in.”

“She’s a natural.”

“I hope she treats you right.”

“She does, Mom. She truly does,” she said pensively.

She quickly stole a treat and joined her partner outside. Before she could reach her destination though, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and found Adam, looking sheepish.

“Can we- umh, talk?”

“Sure, dude,” she followed her nephew towards a calmer space.

“I just wanted to say that I’m ugh, sorry. On mom’s behalf,” the teenager said. “She shouldn’t be acting like that with you and Arizona.”

“While she shouldn’t, you don’t have to apologize for her, Adam. Your mom’s big enough to get her head out of her ass on her own,” she joked.

Adam laughed. “I know, it’s just… Mom can be a real asshole sometimes. Like, she never talks about your past- when you were an alcoholic or a junkie and stuff. I only know because Dad actually talks about everything, no matter how uncomfortable it makes him. I just wanted you to know that nobody really gives a shit about who you bring to the annual family meal. All the adults are too drunk to remember even the half of what happened anyway and the kids just want someone they can play with.”

“I… Thanks, Adam. That means a lot.”

“You’re welcome, I guess,” he shrugged nonchalantly, swallowing back all of his emotions.

“And you know you can always talk to me about everything, right? I know that we don’t phone much but if you ever wanna talk, you can shoot a text or call. Whatever it is. School, friends, significant other…”

“’Kay,” Adam replied with a small yet thankful smile.

Out of nowhere, he hugged his aunt, but he was out of her arms almost faster than it had taken him to get into them. Both of them were surprised by his outburst and they both mutually decided to not mention the awkwardness that followed, even though Amelia wanted to tease the hell out her nephew because he looked absolutely terrified.

“I’mma go now,” Adam mumbled, clearly uncomfortable and he scratched the back of his head.

“Hey, sweet cheeks,” she whispered lovingly as she approached her girlfriend and hugged the blonde from behind, her head coming to rest on her right shoulder and her hands wandering to her lover’s ones. “Barely an hour and half into family lunch and I’m already regretting my sobriety.”

Arizona chuckled and turned her head to kiss her cheek. “Come on, babe. It’s going pretty great if you ask me. Liz said she would show me your first nudes next time,” she teased.

Noah, Liz’s husband, almost choked on his wine while Amelia’s and John’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Only then did the pediatric surgeon realize she may not have chosen the wisest words.

“I meant your baby pictures. Baby pictures, of course! Gosh, why did I word it like that?” she blushed furiously out of embarrassment and the others chuckled at her mishap.

Amelia gently squeezed her a little closer and thankfully, after only a few moments of teasing from the husbands-in-laws, it was all water under the bridge. They were in the middle of an animated debacle about shish kebabs, Arizona had kind of zone out a while ago, happy to just be there and to half-listen, when a small horde of children seemingly came out of nowhere and tackled down Noah with ease, shrieking and giggling loudly, the smaller and hence slower kids happily jumping onto the human pile quickly forming onto the ground.

The adults turned around and saw Meredith, Kathleen and Nancy standing by the bay window, laughing their asses off and with a phone out, without a doubt recording the whole thing. Her family might not be perfect and it might take them a while to get around the idea of their baby sister being in a sex-same relationship, but in this moment, all of them smiling and giggling, Amelia wouldn’t change it for the world.


End file.
